Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – Not Dead Yet

 

Aila blinked, and took a breath. She frowned heavily, and soon choked on something in her throat. With a turn of her head, she coughed up something black, and noxious.

"Huh?" She was confused. The last time she had been able to open her eyes, she was in the hospital, slowly dying of a combination of cancer, and pain medication that had been taken far too frequently.

"Why am I not dead? Cough cough cough!" She clutched her chest, but the familiar pain didn't materialize. However, another mouthful of that black tarry stuff came up out of her lungs. It not only tasted foul, but smelled foul when she spit it out.

"Hoo hup. I...I can breathe?" Aila sat up, and clenched her fingers. She could move. "How long has it been since I could move?" She whispered. Her mind finally cleared enough for her to be able to focus on what her eyes told her.

"Eh?" The small noise she made, along with the twitch to her cheek, said just how bewildered, and shocked she felt. All around her were ancient stone buildings, and most had deteriorated to the point that they could be called ruins.

"Where am I?" Aila stood up, and quickly understood that something was wrong. She hadn't stood up in a year, her lower body had refused to obey due to the cancer, and the medication making her weak.

"Hooo hup." She made some odd noises as she breathed in and out as she wanted a deep breath, and realized that is what she could do. She could breathe freely.

"Oh." *rumble*  She heard her stomach growl, and was just as surprised. She hadn't eaten food in months as she couldn't keep it down. It was at this moment that her nose led her to a berry patch.

"Food!" Without any awareness, Aila quickly started to pick, and eat the berries. She didn't register the sparkle of the berry, the warmth in her belly after she ate each one, or the heat she felt throughout her body. Her mind even told her the name, but she ignored her brain until her belly was sated.

She knew this was a flame berry. Each was the size of her thumb, had an abundance of fire elements, and could be used as an alchemy ingredient. The berry was the size of a strawberry, more orange then red, and could increase a person's fire element during cultivation. It was a favorite treat of the flame wolves that inhabited the forest.

After ten berries, Aila's eyes glowed red for a brief second, and all heat within her body disappeared.

"Ah! So good!" Aila smiled wide, and stopped pushing more berries into her mouth. "They are not overripe, so I can leave them on the bush to eat later!" She stood up, and frowned.  She turned as she sensed a presence nearby.

"Oh no." A large wolf appeared to her left. With purplish gray fur, a white streak along its back, and a purple spot on its forehead, this wolf was easily two hundred pounds of muscle, fang, and claw.

"What do I do?" Aila whispered.

* * *

The flame wolf was livid. A lone human female had eaten half of the berries from the bush, and he had hidden the existence of this bush from the rest of his pack.

He snarled and growled. The human female radiated fear, which made him even angrier. If she was so scared of him, why did she stray away from the human cities?

As he charged forward, the female picked up a stone at her feet and threw it. His first thought was disdain. A stone thrown by a weak human would not harm him

However, as she swung her arm, and released the stone, the wolf could see her eyes glow red, and the stone fly with a force that he could see, but could not react to. This lone human female was not weak, just inexperienced.

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The spot on his forehead was the perfect target.

* * *

"Eh?!" Aila watched the stone fly from her hand, saw the red flames behind it, and saw the impact. The wolf flew from its spot and landed several feet away. She slowly approached the wolf, and picked up another stone, just in case it was still alive.

"Oh. There is a big dent where that spot was." She looked around, then down at herself. She wore only a hospital overcoat, and tee-shirt. She looked at the wolf again, and heard her stomach growl a bit.

"It looks like those berries weren't enough." Aila looked around, and though it looked like a ruined ancient settlement upon first glance, at one time, this place was a manor for a wealthy merchant. It was well made, with stone blocks, and thick timber beams. She didn't know why it was abandoned, but at the moment, she couldn't worry about that.

"What are the main things to do in an emergency situation where you are lost? Secure food, shelter, and clean water. Find tools, and weapons next. Then clothes." She looked at the wolf corpse.

"Wolf, you have just been put on the menu."

* * *

"This was a nice place at one time." Aila moved the wolf body into the main room of the manor, and found that the entire building was made of stone. The roof had fallen in due to the tiles being damaged in a storm, and without maintenance, it continued to deteriorate. The planks had rotted away, but some of the timbers still looked extremely thick and solid.

Aila put the wolf down, and started to explore. After an hour, she had figured out the layout, and realized that the designer hadn't wanted it to be complicated. It was neat, well built, and strong. The thick walls weren't drafty, but the lack of glass, shutters, and doors were a real problem.

She decided to use a side room that looked like a storage room, which was attached to the kitchen. A stove was intact, and she was surprised that no birds built their nests here.

Aila had no idea that this area didn't have a small bird population as the predatory birds were vicious, and skilled. Even the wolves had to be cautious, or they would end up missing their eyes, and pecked to death.

She may have lucked out on a good structure, but she would have to deal with some unreasonable neighbors from time to time.

"This looks usable." She muttered as she examined stove. She put the wolf down in front of an old heavy iron plate and fire box. "It must have been valuable at one time, but even a potbelly stove would be better. Hm, if I remember correctly, I can use fire to sanitize it, then I can use it. Yeah, a real good burn should make it usable." She continued to explore, and found another room attached to the kitchen at the back, and one to the side.

"And this room was used for storage, so it had no windows. That makes it more secure." She walked in, and without understanding, she could see all the corners. It was mid evening, there were no sources of light, but to Aila, it looked as bright as it was in the middle of the afternoon.

"Huh?" She looked down as she stepped onto a slab of wood. The wood cracked and splintered under her weight, and she realized that it wasn't a wooden floor.

It was a trap door.

 

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